The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-05-14

whole evening
Tho only other member of the family
was n prodigy boy Of II, who attended
one of the city schools, and whose GIT
and calf bound prizes glittered ON every
shelf and table in the home drawing
room. This bow, Alfred by name, pos
ses,.-d an apDaling and uncanpy store OF
information on almost every subject.
He was n constant terror to the young
grown mp visitors to the house. being
addicted to pose them with questions. re-
MARKS en- rccoac,itc subjects, illusions to
remote and little known occurrences,
and then watch the effect on his victim
with a searching and malignant eye;
indeed. have seen more than one man
of imposing presence, and well advanced
in yCar5, quail before the imp, as, hands
in Enic..erbockcr pockets, lie has taken
up il position by him for purposes OF
discussion.
j fear / played a mean part with re-
gard to this boy. for, with a supreme
effort, trie'I to hide the burning hatred
felt for him. / even laid myself out to
win his friendship, listening with bland
interest :s he informed me that he in
tended to get scholarship to Cambridge
by and by.
IF I'm not senior wrangler and first
Smiths prizeman when I'm 81 you may
write fool ON my forehead"
All this listened to with apparent in
terest. and was base enough to ask the
dreadful child what profession he should
choose when college days were done.
Profession? Haven't decided yet.
All the PROFESSIONS will be open to me, Of
course. but l shan't decide in hurry.
Father rather inclines toward the church;
but no, thank you! i won't be parson-
Besides, by the time I'm man most
likely therell be no state church Mother
thinks should shine at the bar, but Of
course a woman's opinions worth moth
ing What / should choose, for my own
part, think would be public life-some-
thing in diplomacy-some official post
where l should have a chance Of being
prime minister by and by"
For Elites sweet sake did put up with
the perorations of this intolerable urchin-
For her sweet sake did make my APP
pearance at so many Of their Thursday
evenings sat even the professor began to
know who was. But l made no way
with Ellie. looked at books with her.
I talked to her, and she smiled and
answered in her soft voice; but she re-
manned stranger. My beloved was
very shy-a rare and precious quality in
these days-and the course of true love,
in my case, not only did not run smooth,
but did not seem inclined to run at all!
On one occasion. in a frantic endeavor
to earn Miss Reds gratitude and friend
ship, spent one of my none too plentiful
sovereigns on couple of tickets for a
grand concert at St. James hall, at
which NJ Ladislaus de Thraskkeys, the
great Polish pianist, was to play, and
| Mime. Acciacatura, of the Italian opera.
| was to sing. These tickets l bore to the
| Reids' house, having concoted a strange
| romance about my being connected with
| musical celebrities in order that / might
| not appear to have bought Them l
/ found Mrs. Reid at home, and she ac-
| copied the tickets for herself and daughter
| with alactrity. A day or two later,
| meeting both ladies out walking, and
| venturing to '.hope the concert had been
| ENJOYABLE, it TRANSFERRED that Ellie had
| been detained at home that evening by
| her papa. who wanted some copying
| work done. My hard earned sovereign
| had been spent, it seemed, ON providing
/ an evenings amusement for Mrs. Reid
and the prodigy!
1 Week after week. month after month,
1 went ON loving Ellie. Spring, early
| summer, passed. With August came
my annual holiday. Should go for the
walking tour / had planned? 1 was
uncertain, until one hot day, meeting
Alfred Reid in the street, and simu-
lating friendship for him, he let drop
the following remarks: mo more
school for eight weeks! Hooray!
We're all off to Toftburn tomorrow
except pa. and he's going to Cairo
with Professor Mummery" My holiday
destination was decided ON in that mo-
ment. I, too, would go to TOftburn.
There in the unconventional atmosphere
of q seaside resort; there, with countless
opportunities of meeting, surely-surely
would my courtship progress as 1t had
| never done in London
Two days later l found myself occupy
| ing a parlor and bedroom in Ocean Ter
race Toftburn by the Sea. / was a little
low the first evening, as l ate chop and
looked round the room-a little parlor in
which seemed to have lodged at every
seaside place had ever visited. On the
walls were the trial of Lord William
Russell, and Archbishop Laud's hands
coming out of n grating to bless Stafford
ON the latter's way to executiOn-two
prints that l have never yet been able to
escape from i'll lodgings. There was a
cl.if1onniere with looking glass in the
doors ity looking glass, that gave you
deformed legs and feet as you walked
past it, On the mantel piece was a
tawdry gilt clock: gilt Cupid leaned
| over the top to find out the time, but
| never did find it out. for the clock had
| stopped. These things weighed upon my
spirits, not too high before, and l cried in
despair: '.Oh, Elite! Ellie! shall never
win YOU
Toitburn by the Sea is gay and
much frequented watering place, and
presents precisely the same attrac-
tons us some dozens of its compeers.
Fine people lodged there, in all the large,
white houses and clean. bright squares
| along the front. and they swarmed every
where. their various grown up sons and
daughters, in the - est and coolest OF
summer attire, DONG vast amount OF
spooning. Turn where / might in my
rambles-in the shade of the sailing boats
drawn up ON the beach, in the refreshing
GOODNESS of the landing place beneath the
pier head, where the water heaved II
emerald green hillocks among the stain
and rafters-I stumbled upon a striped
tennis Jacket making love to a spotted
muslin, and beat a hasty and envious re
treat.
| For the first week Twas in high spirits
l met Ellie continually, sometimes will
her mother. sometimes with the prodigy
gazed at her; l walked with her. Oh
SO lovely. in n navy blue yachting dress
and large sailor hat, 1 tried to detair
Ter hand at parting. but it was hastil,
drawn away. l spent hard cash upol
the prodigy in the form of rows, sails
| and trips per excursion steamer, AM
earned from him, / think, some regard
But Ellie was not to be won.
l knew that my darling was shy; but
began to think she must be indiffereut a
| well. and my heart crew heavier day b,